Alpha Flight #11-12 (1984)

First of all—that cover! So awesome. How can you see that and not want to read this book!?

Beta and Gamma Flight team members are introduced and recruited to an independent team led by Jerry Jaxxon, who James Hudson used to work for before he became Vanguard. He’s got two “x” in his name, so he’s a bad guy. In back up stories beginning with issue #1, we’ve seen that Hudson actually stole his exo-suit from Jaxxon, so it’s understandable that Jaxxon is cheesed off. He kidnaps Hudson’s wife, Heather, and lures the Alphas to a trap.

In the ensuing battle, Hudson’s Vanguard suit is damaged and is going to explode, and the countdown is depicted like this:

Pretty gruesome, but that countdown layout is neat.

Creator: John Byrne
Grade: B+
For the complete history of the MU, year by year, go here.
And see my Ratings of Runs on comics here.